Tejinder Pal Singh Toor

Most of the top athletes, including Tejinder Singh Toor and Hima Das among others who are training in Europe, have decided to skip the championships even as the likes of Dutee Chand and Arpinder Singh are eyeing World Championships qualifications.

The Arjuna Awards are given to honour excellence in sports by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in India. Notably, in 2018, women's cricket team star opener Smriti Mandhana was the only cricketer to receive the prestigious award.

India had finished on top of the table with a record-breaking haul of 29 medals (12 gold, 5 silver, 12 bronze) in the 2017 Championships held in Bhubaneswar. The Asian Athletics Championships offers automatic qualification berths for the World Championships.

India's penultimate gold medal at the Asian Games 2018 came from boxer Amit Panghal, who produced one of the biggest upsets in the event as he defeated the reigning Olympic and Asian champion Hasanboy Dusmatov to finish on top of the 49kg category.

Indian athletes have made the country proud with their unbelievable performances at the ongoing Asian Games 2018. But not many know of the struggles and hardships that they have had to face before representing India on the biggest of stages.